Internet service provider Liquid Telecom completed Zimbabwe’s first direct fibre connection to the West African Cable System (WACS), which will provide the Southern African nation with an alternative route for internet traffic.

Liquid managing director Wellington Makamure (Image source: AmeriZim)

“The link has been commissioned to the WACS landing station near Cape Town providing Zimbabwe with an alternative route for international traffic. In Zimbabwe no other IAP has managed to achieve what Liquid Telecom has achieved in such a short space of time. Most operators have opted to wait for us to construct the network and then use it for their back-haul purposes. Liquid Telecom now has a blueprint to deploy urban fibre in other countries,” said Liquid managing director Wellington Makamure.

WACS is a submarine telecommunications cable that extends from South Africa to London along Africa’s west coast – providing much-needed high-speed internet to the continent.

The cable is only one of four submarine systems along the coast of Africa, with the others being EASSy, SEACOM and SAT3.

While the connection to the WACS cable will benefit Zimbabwe, Liquid Telecom added that they have plans to move into other territories. “Liquid Telecom will be investing heavily in expanding into new countries to ensure that for the first time all countries and operators in Central and Southern Africa are directly connected.”